Parade

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT PARADE - PAGE 3

MY FAMILY and I enjoy a good parade, so we set out last Dec. 31 to attend the Citrus Bowl Parade. The committee had arranged an excellent one with plenty of bands and not a few floats. We have only one complaint: the darkness. Excepting the floats, none of the parade elements were prepared for total darkness. The colorful uniforms of the bands were undiscernible, as were assorted functionaries riding in dark cars.Perhaps the Citrus Bowl Committee should invest some of its profits in streetlights for the southern end of International Drive.

DELAND -- Parts of Woodland Boulevard will be closed for part of the afternoon today to make way for DeLand High School's annual homecoming parade. The Greek mythology-themed parade begins at 2 p.m. at Stetson University and winds through downtown to Spec Martin Stadium. The parade will have student floats this year, unlike last year, when school administrators banned the decorations because of reports of vandalism. Floats this year were built at the Volusia County Fairgrounds and were secured in supervised buildings, officials said.

'Tis 3 weeks before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature will be stirring, not even a mouse -- they'll all be at the Orlando Christmas parade, which will wend its way through downtown starting on Robinson Street at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

The Chinese New Year's Day Parade will start today at the Orange County Courthouse at about 11 a.m., travel south on Orange Avenue and finish at City Hall. Police will intermittently close the road to traffic until noon or so to let marchers pass.

Get out the green T-shirts - it's time for downtown Orlando's third annual St. Patrick's Day parade on Saturday. Plan to get there early with the kids so you can check out the Leprechaun Village in Signature Plaza at Orange Avenue and Church Street. From 1:30 to 4 p.m., you'll find clowns, games, face-painting, storytelling and other family fun. You'll also be in a good spot to catch the parade, which starts at 3 p.m. on Robinson Street and winds down Orange Avenue, turning west onto Church Street and ending at Garland Avenue.

OVIEDO - The Oviedo Marketplace mall is kicking off the holiday season Monday with a parade of floats, beauty queens and entertainment.The parade will be on the north side of Oviedo Marketplace on Oviedo Marketplace Boulevard. Parade staging begins at 4:30 p.m. Floats will begin the milelong trip at 7 p.m. and run along Oviedo Marketplace Boulevard.As a salute to the fourth-place World Series Fast Pitch Softball Champions, the grand marshal will be the 1999 Oviedo Little League Senior Girls Softball team.

Mount Dora Police Chief Bob Roberts and other city officials are canceling Saturday's 29th annual Christmas parade sponsored by the Lions Club because the Ku Klux Klan threatened to cause a disturbance. Roberts said he feared for the public's safety.KKK Grand Wizard Tony Bastanzio denies the charge.The Mount Dora Lions Club, sponsor of the parade, originally had agreed to let the Klan appear because its members didn't want to infringe on the white supremacists' First Amendment rights.However, the club reversed its decision after speaking with city officials, prompting Bastanzio to vow to show up anyway.

Too late! Any parade for Woods should have been between the 2001 Masters and the U.S. Open. I suggest the city wait for another really significant milestone. An appropriate one would be the completion of his second career slam. Whatever the occasion, the parade should follow the accomplishment and precede the next major. Winning his third Masters pales in comparison to his "Tiger Slam." Others have matched and bettered the former; none the latter. Only Jack Nicklaus has more than one career slam.

EUSTIS - Hundreds lined the sidewalks of downtown Saturday to watch the marching bands, beauty queens and bright floats snake up Bay Street in this city's annual parade celebrating George Washington. There were cheerleaders, baton twirlers, farm tractors and grown men wearing fezzes driving tiny cars. Smiling politicos tossed candy from fire engines. "I love a parade," said Stuart Jones as he held his young daughter, Madelyn, on his shoulders. Dana Bradley, 15, and about a dozen friends from Tavares High School's Key Club passed out small flags to spectators.